Civil Service (Civo) United players have asked their sponsors government to consider offering them employment.
The players, through their Captain Emmanuel Zoya made the appeal on Thursday during a luncheon hosted by Chief Secretary to the government George Mkondiwa at Sunbird Capital in Lilongwe to thank the team for winning the 2015 Standard Bank Cup after beating Be Forward Wanderers 1-0 in the finals.
Government sponsors Civo through the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC). Zoya said football is a short-time career hence the request.
“It does not look good for players to end up destitute after their playing careers are over. We, therefore, would like to ask the government as our sponsors to seriously consider employing us [players] as is the case with other government sponsored teams.
“We also do not have our own team bus to ease transport challenges,” said Zoya.
In his response, Mkondiwa assured the players that their requests will be looked into as employment is done on merit.
“In the past, Civo players were civil servants, but now things have changed. There will be no special consideration for the players, but I would advise you to submit your CV’s to Mr. Rashid Ntelela [team general secretary] so that those with good qualifications can compete for jobs,” said Mkondiwa.
Malawi Defence Force Teams and Malawi Police Service teams that are also under government sponsorship offer employment opportunities to their players.
